25. Bra
New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob patented the modern bra as the result of an unsuitable corset. When she found her whalebone corset poking out of an evening gown before an event, Phelps used silk handkerchiefs and ribbon to build herself a primitive bra. When friends and strangers started asking for their own bras, Phelps knew she was onto something. In 1914, she patented her “Backless Brassiere,” then started a business that sold it. She later sold the patent to the Warner Brothers Corset Company for $1,500; that company, in turn, earned $15 million from bras during the next three decades.
24. Graham Cracker
The Reverend Sylvester Graham claimed you could suppress carnal urges through diet. According to Graham, bland foods curbed sexual tendencies like masturbation. To help his followers adapt to his prescribed diet, Graham invented his namesake Graham Cracker in 1829. Hundreds of followers chowed down, paving the way for the modern, sexually unaffected graham cracker consumer
23. Microwave Oven
In 1945, Raytheon engineer and inventor Percy Spencer stood in front of a magnetron—a radar component—and noticed a chocolate bar start to melt in his pocket. Curious about the magnetron’s potential, Spencer obtained a bag of popcorn kernels and watched them pop next to the magnetron. The microwave oven was born.
22. Post-Its
After experimenting with adhesives, 3M scientist Dr. Spencer Silver found himself with a reusable, mildly sticky glue in 1968. Though he hadn’t intended to create this specific substance, he tried promoting it within the company, as a spray or glue for temporary bulletin board notices. His efforts did not gain traction until fellow employee Art Fry attended one of Silver’s presentations. Fry, frustrated that his bible hymnal bookmarks constantly fell out during church choir practice, realized that Silver’s glue was the perfect bookmarking solution. Fry proposed the bookmark idea to management. Within five years, 3M introduced Post-it Notes. They have been indispensable to the modern office ever since.
21. German Chocolate Cake
In 1852, English chocolatemaker Samuel German created Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate, the essential ingredient upon which the cake’s name is based. A Texas homemaker sent a newspaper a recipe for German’s Chocolate Cake in 1957, popularizing the cake recipe. General Foods, owner of the Baker’s Chocolate brand, forwarded the recipe to newspapers across the country in a push to increasechocolate sales. Somewhere along the line, newspapers dropped the “s” at the end of German’s, resulting in the “German” chocolate cake.
20. Corn Flakes
In the late 1800s, entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg teamed up with his brother John, an MD and nutrition expert, research healthy diets for patients. While making bread one day, Will accidentally let the dough stand too long. As a result, the dough produced flakes when he rolled it for baking.
Feeling experimental, Will baked the flakes, creating a crunchy cereal that patients loved. Will refined the recipe with corn. He co-founded a cereal mail order company with Jon, then started the Battle Creek Toasted corn flakes Company, the first “ready-to-eat cereal” operation in the world. Kellogg’s followed, and corn flakes remain a classic.
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